Of Darkness and Light
Ratings47
Average rating4.3
The hotly anticipated second book in Ryan Cahill's break out debut series, The Bound and The Broken. Heroes will rise. Nations will fall. Behind the towering walls of Belduar, Calen Bryer and his companions stand in defense of the city and its new king. In over a thousand years, Belduar has never fallen. It has stood as a bastion of hope. But the Lorian empire are at its walls once more, and the Dragonguard are coming. In the North, with Faenir by her side, Calen's sister Ella arrives at the port of Antiquar. She holds no fear of the unknown. She will see this through, no matter what - or who - gets in her way. Meanwhile, at the embassy of the Circle of Magii in Al'Nasla, Rist Havel hones his newfound powers in preparation for the trials. Unbeknownst to Rist, he is being watched, measured, and judged. He was not taken into the Circle by chance. There is greatness in him. But great men can do terrible things. As Lorian forces land on southern shores and Aeson Virandr's letters of rebellion find their way to the right hands, only the Knights of Achyron see the true danger. The danger that stirs in the darkness. The coming shadow will not stop. It will consume all in its path. It wants for nothing but blood and fire.
Series
Featured Series
5 primary books9 released books#2 in The Bound and the Broken
The Bound and the Broken is a 9-book series with 5 primary works first released in 2020 with contributions by Ryan Cahill.
Reviews
Popular Reviews
Reviews with the most likes.
Wow what a book. About halfway through this book I was enjoying it, but then a single chapter added a whole star to my rating and it only kept up that impressive storytelling, characterisation and overall fun. I love so many of the characters, am deeply invested in the world and am so so excited for the next one.
This is the sequel to Of Blood and Fire, and it is book two of The Bound and the Broken series. Another cool, simple cover too.
This sequel does a fantastic job of amping up everything that started in the first. It opens directly following the events of the first and continues straight through. There is next to no dull moments, with amplified action, dialogue, adventure, emotion, suffering, and danger. The writing gets a nice boost of improvement to the first as well, which is always a nice thing to see following a debut.
For me, the thing this sequel does the best, is further and further distance itself from others of its kind. Not only Eragon and Paolini, but dragon riders and fantasy as a whole. Cahill is not necessarily doing anything outside of the mold, but he is further making it his own, and damn is this one fun. And blood pumping.
I love where the characters went in this sequel and I thoroughly enjoyed the new ones too. Personally a 5/5* for me. Absolutely read this series.
This books unfolds the world of Epheria even more. There are new additional POVs, plotlines and locations. New POVs help establish characters and the world better, expanding and providing new information about the world. It feels like page by page the reader learns something new about the world and magic.
Even though Of Darkness and Light has a big cast of side characters, primarily focus is on the main characters, making the story easier to follow. However, providing less characterization and depth to the side characters, makes being with them less impactful.
The pacing of the book is well-balanced, the quiet moments are entwined with fast-paced action sequences, which were excellently wriiten and extremely visual. However, sometimes the tone made some weird and sudden switches from moody to joking and laughing that felt very abrupt.
Overall the book is enjoyable and fun.
Top Prompts
Featured Prompt
3,356 books#3,356 in What are your favorite books of all time?
When you think back on every book you've ever read, what are some of your favorites? These can be from any time of your life – books that resonated with you as a kid, ones that shaped your personal...
